Colombia police chiefs forced out

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The head of Colombia's national police force and the country's intelligence chief have both resigned amid a scandal over illegal wiretapping.

Police and security officials were found to have recorded telephone calls by opposition politicians, journalists and members of the government.

The government described the recordings as illegal and "totally unacceptable".

The wiretaps were revealed by a probe in a Colombian news magazine, but were widely suspected, correspondents say.

President Alvaro Uribe's government reacted quickly, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota, and has already named a new national police chief.

Jorge Daniel Castro, the head of the police force, is being replaced by Oscar Naranjo, who our correspondent says is widely regarded as the most able policeman of his generation.

Mr Castro and Guillermo Chavez, the intelligence chief, were both instructed to submit their resignations.

It remains to be seen what repercussions this will have on the government of President Alvaro Uribe.

But this scandal comes on the back of the arrest of five Congressmen charged with working alongside paramilitary death squads, our correspondent notes.